Tuesday, 14 January 2014

L'Oréal Colour Riche Extraordinaire in Rouge Allegro

L'Oréal Colour Riche Extraordinaire in Rouge Allegro

There have been several stellar additions to the world of drugstore lipsticks recently, and the L'Oréal Colour Riche Extraordinaire line is no exception. With 16 shades available, the Colour Riche Extraordinaires seem to bridge the gap between a liquid lipstick and a pigmented gloss. They are quite unlike the YSL Glossy Stains (or the L'Oréal version of that product, the Colour Caresse Shine Stains), however. I find the YSL Glossy Stains quite sticky and they require a more precise application of at least two layers to reach the correct opacity and texture. The new Colour Riche Extraordinaire, on the other hand, are not the least bit sticky, have less of a staining quality, and are very much 'swipe and go'. In many regards, their texture is far superior to many similar products I've tried.

While the packaging of these is not as luxe as one would find in a high end brand, the window and clear bottom make it very easy to see the color of the product. I own approximately 1.8 million lip products (kidding), so making it easy to identify what I am grabbing is a small but significant detail in my book. As is the quality of the applicator, and this one does just the trick. It is a doe foot applicator that is slightly flattened. The photo below doesn't show it, but the applicator has a bit of a dip in the end so it can grab more product out of the bottle. This means fewer repetitions of dipping and applying (yay convenience! yay hygiene!)

In the bottle and in swatches, Rouge Allegro (shade 303) comes across as a warm pinkish red. On my pigmented lips, which make all lip products skew much more pink than they initially appear, it does look significantly more pink (I would call it a reddish pink, rather than a pinkish red). It is a gorgeous color that I think would suit a wide range of skin tones.

When it comes to bold lip colors, I usually prefer a matte or satin finish (something about a bright or dark color that also has a glossy finish seems a bit garish to me), but this is just refined enough to work as a gloss, in my opinion. As I mentioned above, the texture is not at all sticky, yet the product manages to have excellent lasting power. As it fades down, it does lose some of the glossy finish, but retains its color. I also did not experience any smudging or feathering while wearing Rouge Allegro, which was another pleasant surprise.

All in all, I'm tremendously pleased with this purchase and I have no doubt that I will pick up some additional colors from this line in the coming months. It's also worth bearing in mind that L'Oréal often offers printable coupons that can be used in most stores, making this product über-affordable!